


Just a Man and His Will to Survive

by likeasouffle



Category: Glee
Genre: Drag Queens, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-08
Updated: 2013-06-08
Packaged: 2017-12-14 07:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/834171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likeasouffle/pseuds/likeasouffle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Blaine does drag, and Kurt just wants to be taken seriously.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Man and His Will to Survive

Blaine looks vaguely ridiculous in a wig hair net, two layers of tights, and harsh blocks of makeup that haven’t been blended yet. He’s dabbing unnaturally white foundation onto his skin, leaning forward over the bathroom counter for a closer view in the mirror. His dress for the night is hanging from the shower curtain rod.  
Kurt walks in sighing and starts taking off his watch, belt, brooch, and vest, then wets a cold washcloth to cover his face soothingly while he breathes, deep and slow.  
“Bad day?” Blaine asks, stopping his work.  
“Ugh.”  
“Do you want to talk about it?”  
“Just. Undermined by the new guy. Nobody takes me seriously.”  
“ _Kurt_. Of course they do.” Blaine puts down the makeup sponge and strokes Kurt’s back. “The ones who matter do.”  
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Kurt throws the cloth into the sink and grabs a bottle of moisturizer. He squirts some out onto his fingers and dabs it onto his face.  
Blaine watches Kurt a moment, frowning, then picks up the sponge again and picks up where he left off. “Are you still coming to my show?”  
“Ugh, I don’t know. What charity is it for again?”  
“That queer youth summer camp. The more money they make, the more kids they can bus in from other states.”  
“Hm.” Kurt spreads the moisturizer around his forehead, down his nose, carefully avoiding his eyes. “What counts as a ‘youth’?”  
“Twelve to twenty-one I think?” Blaine’s voice gets faster as he gets more excited. “Can you imagine? Being surrounded by sixty other queer kids for a whole _week_? When you were _twelve_? It would have been incredible.”  
“Hm.” Kurt blends the cream into his skin, looking mildly refreshed. “What do they do anyway?”  
“I think it’s mostly a normal summer camp, with games, art and crafts… But they also have big group discussions about healthy relationships, safer sex, self esteem, gender diversity, queer history and role models… _God_ I wish I could have done something like that when I was a kid.”  
“Would it have really made a difference? It’s only a week, you’d still have to go home.”  
“But just knowing that community is _out_ there. Not as an idea, but actual _people_. People who get you, who you can keep in touch with online, people who are exactly like you…”  
Kurt frowns. “Well. Maybe not _exactly_ like me. I probably would have been kind of weird even at queer camp.”  
“Only because you’re so interesting and gorgeous no one can quite compare.” Blaine squeezes Kurt’s shoulder and purses his lips to make a kiss noise. Then he leans in close to the mirror to inspect himself. “Can you hand me my lip liner?”

\--

When they get to the venue, Blaine air kisses Kurt goodbye (so as not to mess up his makeup) and heads to the back to find the rest of the Sisters. Kurt goes to the bar to buy a drink, give a donation, and grab a handbill. It has info on the charitable organization of the night, some upcoming events, plus on the back page _The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence: A Sistory_. He reads it to pass the time until the background music turns off and the entire Order goes on stage for the opening dance number, to hooting and cheering from the audience.  
A guy approaches Kurt and sits on the stool right next to him without preamble. He looks Kurt over and smiles. “Shouldn’t you be up there? Or getting ready or something?”  
Kurt turns toward him blinking. “Um…”  
“Are you not part of the show?”  
“…No? I’m here supporting my fiancé, who’s on stage right now. The short one in the red -“ Kurt looks for Blaine, but he seems to have moved to a badly lit area at the back of the stage and is hard to see. “Oh, he’s in the background right now but -“  
The guy smiles tightly. “I think these ladies prefer to be called ‘she’ when they’re in drag.”  
Kurt lowers his chin and bites out: “I think I know my own fiancé, thanks, and he’s no lady.”  
The guy raises his hands. “I didn’t mean any offence. Just something I've noticed."  
"Hm." Kurt sips his drink as the song comes to an end and the performers file off stage to disappear behind the curtain. A voice announces the first solo act of the night, Roxy Balboa, and Blaine comes out swinging to Eye of the Tiger, ducking and dipping like a fighter in tall red heels. The song soon fades into an upbeat dance number, and Blaine takes the mic and sings.  
Kurt leans toward the guy. “There, that’s my fiancé," he says.  
"Wow, she’s beautiful!" The guy watches, transfixed, as Blaine woos the crowd the way he always has. "You’re so lucky."  
Kurt raises an eyebrow. "…He really looks nothing like that in real life, you know. I mean, yes, he’s very attractive, but you can’t really tell what these guys look like from their stage personas."  
The guy doesn't seem bothered, and he doesn't take his eyes off Blaine. "Well, she has great legs, I’ll say that much."  
Kurt side-eyes him, then focuses his attention on Blaine. They watch in silence until the song is done, when Kurt stands to clap enthusiastically and wolf whistle a little.  
The next performer only lip syncs, as most of the performers in the group do, so it isn’t as interesting as Blaine’s number had been. The guy seems to lose interest in what’s happening on stage and watches Kurt a moment, pressing his fingers to his lips. "It’s a shame you’re not part of the show; you’d make such a beautiful queen."  
"Um. Thanks?"  
"Don’t worry, this isn’t a come on. I’m just saying, you have such delicate features."  
Kurt clenches his jaw. "Listen, I’m not really in the mood to socialize right now, so if you don’t mind -"  
"…Suit yourself. Have a nice night."

\--

Blaine is hyped up and bouncy after the performance, all smiles and congratulations to his fellow performers as they leave. He takes Kurt’s hand and swings it between them. “So? What did you think?”  
Kurt kisses his cheek. “You were perfect, as always.” He sighs deeply.  
“What’s wrong? Are you still upset about work?”  
“No. Possibly. But someone called me ‘ _delicate_.’” He spits the word like it’s poison. “Can you _believe_ that?”  
Blaine holds the door for Kurt, and they descend the stairs outside the venue. “I’m sure it wasn’t meant as an insult. What was the context?”  
Just then they hear a voice from behind them: “Excuse me? Miss?” It’s a high school aged kid in a black hoodie, who has been hanging around outside the door.  
Blaine turns to him, extends his hand, and smiles. “Hi, I’m Roxy.”  
The kid shakes his hand weakly and looks at the ground. “They wouldn’t let me in, my fake ID didn’t work, so uh...” He chuckles.  
“Oh.” Blaine frowns apologetically. “I’m sorry, I really can’t help you get in if you’re underage -”  
“No, that’s not what -” The kid laughs. “I was just wondering... Could I have an autograph?”  
Blaine’s eyebrows go up. “But you didn’t even see the show.”  
“I don’t care. I just think you guys are so cool. I’ve read all about all the stuff you’ve done for like, the community, and I really want to join one day -”  
“That would be wonderful! Of course you can have an autograph. Do you have something I can sign?” There’s an awkward moment while the kid checks his pockets and comes up empty-handed. He seriously considers a receipt for a moment until Kurt offers him the handbill from the show. Blaine signs it with a flourish and a little cartoony set of boxing gloves. “I can’t wait to do a show with you one day.” He grins as he hands it over.  
“Thank you. I don’t know if I could actually do it, there’s no way I’m pretty enough, but um, thanks.”  
“Oh, that doesn’t matter!” Blaine briefly grips the kid’s shoulder encouragingly. “Believe me, we have so much diversity in our group. Some Sisters are really feminine and petite, but some have a lot of hair and muscle, which lends itself to this incredible genderfuck kind of look when it’s combined with the makeup and clothes and everything. Some even paint on temporary beards specifically for that reason. But either way, all bodies are welcome.”  
The kid nods. “Do you like looking girly?”  
“I do, I love it. I mean, all clothes are drag in a way, and I’m fine with my everyday business casual drag.” He winks. “But if I couldn’t express my feminine self every now and then, even in private, I think I’d go a little crazy.”  
A car honks from down the street. “Dude!” Someone shouts. “Are you coming or not?”  
“I gotta go.” The kid starts heading back down the sidewalk. “Thank you for the autograph!”  
Blaine smiles and takes Kurt’s hand again. “No problem, have a good night.”  
The kid stops and turns back toward them. “By the way.” He bites his lip. “You look really beautiful.” Then he hurries on his way toward the car.  
“Thank you so much!” Blaine’s face splits in a wide, delighted smile. He skips a little bit. He looks over at Kurt and bumps his shoulder with his own. “I think this was a really good night, don’t you?”  
Kurt nods, contemplative. “Mm.”  
“Oh.” Blaine’s face falls. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. That whole thing completely interrupted what you were saying. Are you...”  
“No, that’s okay. You’re right, it _was_ a good night.”  
“Are you glad you came?”  
The corner of Kurt’s mouth tilts up in a funny little smile. “You know? I think I am.”


End file.
